Ashes
by Tomboy 601
Summary: An act of arson leaves Providence Head Quarters destroyed and everyone has a motive. Fingers are being pointed and to make matters worse, both Holiday and Caesar are trying to get custody of Rex.
1. Fire

Author's Note: I noticed a disturbing lack of mysteries in the Generator Rex section. I'm going to try to fix that. This fic is very loosely based on a mystery I read around the time I first joined called _Pyramid of Fire_ in the Yu-Gi-Oh section. Sadly, that story was never finished but I hope to match its greatness with _Ashes_. That being said, the only similarity should be the part where an important building is burned down. Enjoy!

Spoilers for the end of the series.

Warnings: Graphic descriptions of a fire, mentions of death, disturbing imagery

Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex.

Smoke billowed from every direction, enveloping everything. It was impossible to see anything through the thick gray smoke. Alarms were blaring, but it made no difference. Those that were still inside would never get out alive.

There was no news coverage of Providence HQ burning down. After the worldwide cure, there were no EVOs to contain and the building became just another army base.

HQ had housed about a hundred and fifty people, including Rex, Caesar, Six, White Knight and Doctor Holiday.

An investigation into the source of the fire revealed that it had started in an unoccupied bedroom and the fire was deemed an act of arson. The police were alerted and took the survivors into questioning.

White Knight, still in his anti-nanite suit, was first.

"I understand that you weren't happy when Providence was declared an army base," said the detective as he lay back in a chair.

"Providence was never supposed to become an outpost of the army. We dealt with EVOs. We still had two housed at HQ," White Knight responded neutrally.

"There were financial problems, right? It must have been difficult to find a way to pay for the needs of your soldiers. The fire insurance on the building was well above the norm."

"Some of my scientist's experiments could easily cause a fire. It was a precaution."

The questioning of White Knight went on for a while before he was allowed to leave.

"Agent Six, you have worked for Providence for several years and I understand that you wanted to move to a more centralized area."

"I had no reason to burn down HQ," Six said bluntly. "I could have left anytime I wanted."

With the detective getting nowhere, Six was released.

"Doctor Holiday, you wanted to be transferred to a different location so you could continue your work. The government denied your request multiple times. With Providence HQ gone, your request may be approved."

"Just because I wanted to be transferred doesn't mean I burned down the base," Doctor Holiday said defensively. "Besides, I was getting used to my new workplace."

"You had to be moved to a new laboratory because of budget constraints. It must have been frustrating to suddenly have less space."

"I didn't have as much space as I wanted, but it all worked out and my research was going well. I just wanted a change of scenery."

"I see..."

Holiday was cleared to leave.

"Caesar Salazar, you were involved in the original Nanite Project, correct?"

"Yes. I worked with my parents."

"What about your brother? I see that you have been trying to get custody of him for a while."

"That's complicated. Providence has made it very difficult for anyone to gain custody of him. My request for custody is currently stuck in limbo."

"It would be a lot easier to gain custody of your brother if Providence HQ was gone."

"It would be. But, why would I risk losing my work and my brother in an uncontrolled fire? They could just transfer him to a new location away from me."

"You could have just taken him and left. I see that you've done that before."

"I didn't know what Providence was when I did that. I do now. Rex wants to be with his new family. That included Agent Six, Doctor Holiday in addition to myself."

"What about the other EVO, Bobo Haha?"

"Oh, him too. Rex gets along very well with Bobo. It would be nice if Providence would let me take him, too. He would be very useful for my work."

"What exactly do you do?"

"I work on enhancing everyday life. I can make a delicious mango smoothie without a blender."

The detective thought Caesar was eccentric, but otherwise harmless and released him.

"Now, Rex, I see here that you didn't like your current situation. I understand that. Providence wanted to keep you and you were being fought over. Doctor Holiday and your brother both wanted to adopt you."

Rex stared straight ahead and said nothing.

"I take it, Bobo Haha is your friend. You must be very worried."

"...Bobo..."

"As an EVO, Bobo is very difficult to treat. With your cooperation, we might be able to get him better care."

Rex went from dazed to furious in the span of a few seconds.

"You can help Bobo? Why aren't you doing something? He could die!"

The detective was startled by Rex's sudden change in behavior.

"I said we might be able to help. No one really knows the biology of an EVO, so-"

"Then let Holiday look at him! She can help him! She helps me all the time!"

"You need to calm down."

"How can I calm down when you're using me as a bargaining chip? I didn't start that fire!"

"We just want to know what happened. Maybe you didn't mean to let the fire get out of control. Maybe it was an accident. It will be better for you in the long run if you're honest."

"I didn't start the fire!"

"You were seen in the area where the fire started only a few minutes beforehand. Tell me why I should believe you."

"I didn't start the _stupid_ fire!"

The Smack Hands came out and that was the end of it. Rex was escorted back to the holding cell to await further questioning.

Author's Note: I'm stopping it here for now. I don't believe that Bobo was cured in the worldwide cure. It just doesn't make sense for him to be on the ship at the end of the final episode if he was just a regular chimp. Leave me a review and tell me how I did.


	2. Custody Trouble

Author's Note: I'm trying to get about a thousand words in each chapter. Here's chapter two!

Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex.

Rex sat in the dark cell, fiddling with his handcuffs. They were EVO proof handcuffs and he couldn't break them.

He could hear laughter outside his cell. The sun was shining through a window. He couldn't believe that the detective had tried to blame him for the fire. More laughter sounded from outside the cell. He was sure they were laughing at him.

"So, who's up next with the EVO kid?" asked Detective Peters.

"I am," replied Detective Smith. "If you ask me, he set it. Just look how defensive he got when he was questioned the first time."

Rex looked up when he heard a key unlocking his noisy cell door.

"All right, EVO Kid, it's time to go back into interrogation. Remember to keep your hands to yourself this time."

"My name's Rex. Not EVO Kid," Rex said stubbornly.

"Well, whatever you're called, let's go."

Rex was led passed the desks and into the windowless interrogation room. He sat down in the hard wooden chair while Detective Smith sat across from him.

"Let's get right to the point. Did you mean to set that fire?"

"I didn't set the fire. Why won't any of you believe me?"

"I wasn't born yesterday. EVOs are bad news even if the only ones left are you and that chimp."

"So you're saying I started a fire because I'm an EVO? That's insane!"

"You're used to having Providence clean up your messes. That won't happen anymore with most of the EVOs gone."

After an hour of questioning, Rex gave up trying to convince Detective Smith that he hadn't done it. The man already had it in his head that Rex had set the fire and there was no point in arguing with someone like that.

"Why hasn't Rex been released yet?" demanded Holiday.

"He's still in questioning," Replied the desk clerk.

"It's because he's an EVO, right? Holding him without proof is illegal!" Holiday was practically yelling now.

"Calm down, Doctor Holiday," Caesar said. "They have to release Rex sooner or later."

Holiday glared at him in response, but stopped yelling. Caesar wasn't her favorite person right now. He was trying to get custody of Rex and Holiday thought he was too irresponsible to take care of him.

They left the police station. The sun was shining and birds were singing, a contrast to the general mood. Though neither said it out loud, they wished today had been dreary and rainy instead.

Arriving at their new base, if it could be called that, was the highlight of the day. White Knight and Six were already there. Six glanced in their direction, but White Knight didn't even look up from his computer monitor.

"What's he looking at?" Caesar asked, nodding his head over at White Knight.

"The security footage of the hallway near where the fire started," Six answered.

On the monitor, there was a recording labeled Camera 23. Holiday appeared on the recording, entering the room with some tape and leaving without it. Then, Caesar entered the room, arms full of various things he had been working on. He left without them. Six entered the camera view next and left without even going in the room. White Knight entered and stayed in the room for a few minutes before leaving. Finally, Rex chased Bobo into the room and left while running away from Bobo, a smile on his face.

"The only one who didn't enter the room at all is Six," White declared.

"That doesn't mean he didn't do it," Caesar responded.

Six flashed his swords at Caesar.

"Or maybe it means he couldn't have done it at all." Caesar added quickly.

Holiday left the room and Six followed her.

"What's wrong?" Six asked.

"You know what's wrong. Caesar is too eccentric. He can't take care of Rex. Why is he even trying to get custody of him?" Holiday said.

"I think Caesar just wants to be part of Rex's life. He was gone for five years and Rex didn't even know he existed for a long time." Six replied.

"That's exactly my point. Caesar was gone. He was gone for five years! Rex didn't even know who he was until recently."

"If you're going to talk about me, I'd like it if you said it to my face." Caesar interrupted.

"Fine," Holiday said angrily. "You weren't there for Rex when he needed you. You never told him anything until it was over. You think you can just walk back into his life? It doesn't work that way!"

"I'm his brother. I'm all he has left! If I want to be a part of his life, I should be able to. Why are you so against me?"

"I only want what's best for Rex. You're not what's best for him!"

Six walked away. An argument between Holiday and Caesar was bound to get loud and Six didn't do loud.

Back at the police station, Rex was undergoing yet another interrogation. This time, a female detective was doing the questioning.

"Did you start the fire?"

"I'm gonna tell you what I told everyone else. No! I didn't!"

"What about Bobo? Did he start the fire?"

"No! I was just teasing him and we ended up in that room. He got back at me, too. I had to run all the way back to Doc's lab."

"Is there anyone who might have started the fire after you left?"

"I didn't really look in the room. It was mostly a storage room, anyway. Caesar liked to hide his stuff in there. The only weird thing about it was a bunch of tape. Why would anyone need that much tape?"

"You said it was a storage room. Was there anything in the room that someone wouldn't want found?"

"Caesar doesn't like it when people look at his experiments without asking."

"So you think your brother may have set the fire?"

"No, if anyone set that fire, it would be Knight. He never liked that Providence was turned into an army base and some of the stuff in the room was worth a lot of money. And he said he needed money to keep living there."

With that, Rex was allowed to leave as soon as someone came to pick him up. Police protocol. Rex wasn't surprised when Holiday and Caesar both showed up to take him to the new base.

Author's Note: Next chapter, more about Caesar's experiments, the financial problems and Holiday and Caesar fighting over custody of Rex.


	3. Financial Difficulties

Author's Note: I'm uploading new chapters after I've finished writing the next one. So, chapter four will be uploaded after I finish writing chapter five, etc.

Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex.

White Knight hated to admit it, but the fire would have solved all of his financial problems if it had been deemed an accident. He had been forced to allow the government to take Providence HQ as collateral for several debts, mostly Rex related. It wasn't as though he hated Rex. He just didn't like cleaning up after him. It didn't help that Rex had overheard him telling Six that many of the items in the bedroom were worth a lot of money if they were destroyed.

He wasn't surprised when the detectives took him back into custody. It had been embarrassing to be arrested in front of everyone. Rex had looked shocked when he was arrested for arson. Apparently, he hadn't realized that some things were to be kept secret. That overheard conversation for one.

As he was lead into the interrogation room for the second time, he noticed that it had started to rain. It matched his spirit perfectly.

Detective Peters wasted no time.

"We heard that there were some very valuable items of yours in that room. If they had been broken or destroyed by an accident, you'd have enough money to pay off your debts and more."

"While it's true that many items in there were valuable, I would never have endangered my team with a fire. I rarely leave my office."

"The office that was built for you was going to be seized. You knew that."

"I was going to sell some of the items to keep the office. There would have been no need to resort to criminal activity to pay off a debt."

"Rex was the cause of most of those debts. Did that make you angry?"

"Rex is a good kid. He doesn't usually mean to cause destruction." White Knight didn't know why he suddenly felt the need to defend Rex.

"You were losing out with Rex. He was more trouble than he was worth. You wanted to kill him. You got the chimp instead."

White Knight felt insulted by the insinuation that he would kill Rex after all the boy had done for him. Maybe once he had considered it, but things were different now.

"That chimp was-is Rex's friend. I had no reason to kill either of them. I still don't."

"An accelerent was found on some of the valuable items. I find it difficult to believe that you had no role in this."

"Believe what you want. For all I know, one of Caesar's experiments could have started the fire."

After what felt like forever, White Knight was released to a holding cell while Detective Peters went to collect Caesar.

Holiday and Caesar glared at each other from across the room. Six stood between them with Rex by his side going over the recording again.

Rex looked at Holiday, then to Caesar and back again. He knew they were fighting over who he got to live with. If it came down to a choice, he wasn't sure who he'd pick to live with. Rex was relieved to hear a knock at the door. His heart sank when Detective Peters started handcuffing Caesar.

"Caesar! What are you doing?" Rex screamed at Detective Peters.

"It's okay, Rex. Just a misunderstanding. I'll be back soon," Caesar said calmly as he was led away.

"Rex, why don't you go check on Bobo?" Six suggested.

Although there had been no change whatsoever in Bobo's condition since the fire, Six knew that Rex was comforted by the fact that he wasn't dead.

Rex walked into Bobo's room and sat down on the chair next to him.

"There's a good chance he won't make it," Holiday said quietly.

"I know," Six said.

"Try not to get his hopes up, Six."

Back at the police station, Caesar found himself in the quiet interrogation room again. The door made a loud noise as it slammed shut and Detective Peters sat down on the chair across from him.

"Your experiments are dangerous, Caesar. Did you know that?"

"My experiments were all powered off. They couldn't have done anything unless they were turned on.

"So you're saying that somebody went into the room, poured gasoline on your experiments and then turned them on?"

"It's possible, though I don't know who could have done it."

"Could Rex have turned them on?"

"He could, but he knows he's not allowed to touch them."

"Does Rex always listen to what you say?"

"Almost never. Why?"

"So he turned them on."

"I didn't say that. I said he almost never listens to me."

"Why do you want custody of Rex if he doesn't listen to you?"

"Rex is my brother. I'm the only person he knows that's blood related to him. I think I could handle him."

"Doctor Holiday wants custody of him, too. How did she take it when you applied for custody two days after her?"

"Not very well. She doesn't believe I'm cut out for raising him."

"Rex will need lifelong monitoring because he's an EVO. From what I've heard, you tend to put your work first."

"My work is important, but my brother is more important. That's why I developed a tool for monitoring his nanites wherever he is. From there, I could work with Providence to keep him safe and offload his surplus nanites."

"Doctor Holiday currently does this. What makes you think you could do better?"

"I hope to continue working with Doctor Holiday even after I gain custody of Rex. It wouldn't be fair to just take him and leave."

"You're very confident that you will gain custody."

"I believe that I can convince the government to give me custody. He's only a minor for two more years."

"I see. You're free to go. We will come and get you if we get any more evidence."

Caesar was uncuffed and sent back to the base. When he arrived, he noticed Holiday smiling as she watched Rex talk to Bobo.

Author's Note: End chapter three. Next chapter, the police find some interesting evidence about the fire and there's a custody hearing for Rex.


	4. Suspicions

Author's Note: There's going to be more mystery than drama starting this chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex.

White Knight found it difficult to sleep in the cold holding cell. He figured that they must not have enough evidence to charge him with arson because he had been here for two days and no one ever really spoke to him. He saw Caesar leaving the interrogation room with a calm expression on his face. Clearly, they didn't think Caesar had anything to do with the fire. Yet.

He woke to the sound of cheering. It was going to be a bad day. The morning sun shone through the bars of the cell. He wished it would rain.

Detective Smith looked over the new evidence in confusion. The gasoline used was nanite free. The only person who could manufacture nanite free gasoline was Caesar Salazar. The only person who would have a need for it was White Knight. So why were Six's fingerprints all over the can?

He looked up when he noticed that the computer also matched the fingerprints of Rex and Doctor Holiday on the can. But, Six's fingerprints were the most prevalent. They could charge Six with arson.

Agent Six watched as Caesar and Holiday argued yet again. The custody hearing for Rex was tomorrow. Neither would be happy to lose. It might even destroy their friendship. Rex was in Bobo's room, ignoring the fighting.

The sudden silence outside alerted Six to the presence of company. He looked outside. Several armed police officers stood outside in the sunlight. Then they broke down the door.

A lot of things happened in the next few moments. Six was tackled by two officers. Holiday ran towards Bobo's room. Caesar reached for the computer. And Rex was shot.

There was blood. Lots of it. Rex was holding his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Holiday and Caesar were both at his side in seconds. And Six was taken away in chains.

As Six was pushed into the interrogation room, he saw several officers watching him like he might break out. But, even Six couldn't break out of the chains that held his arms behind his back. The ankle cuffs made it difficult to walk.

Detective Smith entered and sat down.

"Are you comfortable, Agent Six?" He asked.

"What do you think?" Six replied.

"I'm sorry for the excessive force used by my officers. It seems they didn't think that the sixth most dangerous man would come quietly."

"They would be right. Which one of them shot Rex?"

"The EVO kid should be fine. The freaks generally live."

Six decided he didn't like this man.

"He's not a freak. Who. Shot. Him."

"It was a necessary precaution. We couldn't have him attacking officers of the law with his powers."

"He wasn't doing anything!"

"Enough about EVO Kid. Tell me why you started the fire. We found your fingerprints all over the gasoline can."

"The nanite free gasoline can?"

"I never said it was nanite free."

"I brought it to White for his mini mecha. I always do. You're going to find my fingerprints all over all of those cans."

"Always?"

"Sometimes, I have Rex bring a couple." Sic admitted.

"And Doctor Holiday?"

"She sometimes takes them from Caesar's lab to study them."

"Why nanite free gasoline?"

"White doesn't like anything with nanites in it. He says it burns better in his mini mecha." The last part was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

"I see. Sorry for the confusion, Agent Six. You're free to go."

As Detective Smith removed the chains and ankle cuffs, Six couldn't help but think that he was let loose too quickly.

Rex wore his usual clothes to the hearing. Holiday and Caesar had worked together to get the bullet out and there was a bandage on his arm underneath his clothes.

"Court is now in session," announced the judge. "The custody case of Rex Salazar, sixteen, will now begin. Before we start, Rex, do you know who you want to live with?"

Rex knew he couldn't choose. Why couldn't things just stay the same?

"I'll take that as a 'no'. Let's begin. Caesar Salazar, tell me why you want custody of your younger brother."

"I want to take care of Rex like I should. I'm his brother and I'm all he has left." Caesar stated.

"Doctor Holiday, why do you want custody of Rex?" The judge asked.

"Caesar is a good man, but I don't think he has enough experience with Rex. He tends to focus on his work and ignore everything else. A lot of problems were caused because he didn't communicate well enough with others. I don't think he's what's best for Rex."

Try as he might, Rex couldn't stop listening to Caesar and Holiday attempt to make the other look bad. Did it matter who he lived with? Nothing would change, right?

At the police station, Detective Smith was going over the evidence again. They almost had enough to charge White Knight with arson. It would be so much easier just to blame the EVO Kid for it. It would save everyone a lot of time. EVOs had no rights. _Rex_ had no rights. Just because he looked human didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. That's why he had ordered one of his men to shoot him just once. It would make it easier to take him in after pinning the blame on him. Because at this rate, the real arsonist would walk free due to lack of evidence. Detective Smith really didn't think that White Knight had set the fire. In fact, he was pretty sure Six had. Rex was the last person in the room before the fire, but that didn't mean anything. It just meant that he was dangerous just like every other EVO.

As Detective Smith looked over the evidence one final time, he noticed something strange that made him forget about Six as the suspect. Now he knew for sure who had set the fire.

Author's Note: The next chapter is the last one.


	5. The Reason Why

Author's Note: Five thousand words later, we're finally reaching the ending. This is the last chapter of _Ashes_.

Disclaimer: I don't own Generator Rex.

"Custody of Rex Salazar will go to Rebecca Holiday," The judge announced.

Caesar punched the table. Why couldn't he have gotten custody? He felt someone put their hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Caesar," Rex said sadly. "I just couldn't pick."

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I couldn't make them understand how important you are to me."

"You're still my brother. Doc won't just take me and leave."

"Rex, Doctor Holiday wants to be transferred to a new facility. Since she has custody of you, you have to go with her."

"But, I don't want to leave! I want to stay here with you and Six and everybody."

"I'm sorry, Rex. I can still visit."

Rex shook his head and walked away.

After getting back to the base, Holiday went to check on Bobo and found him in the same condition as when they left. She was beginning to wonder if it would just be easier to just pull the plug on him. Her thoughts were interrupted when Rex came in.

"Hey, Doc? We're not gonna just leave, are we?" Rex asked softly.

"Of course not. We need to help Bobo and get you settled. But, I don't know about after that."

"I don't want to leave Caesar behind! Can't things just stay the same?"

"I'm sorry, Rex. Sometimes, things just change."

White Knight was surprised to see the guard unlocking his cell.

"You're letting me leave?"

"We've found the real culprit."

"And I had to stay in here in case you didn't."

The guard said nothing.

"Hey, Rex, would you like a smoothie?" Caesar asked. He didn't want to seem too eager or disappointed.

"No," Came Rex's sole response. He hadn't really spoken much since after the trial.

"Come on, just try it." Caesar persisted.

"Okay," Rex said, giving in.

"How does it taste?" Caesar asked.

"Good," was Rex's response.

Caesar sighed. Rex was being difficult and only Bobo could really help when Rex was difficult. Unfortunately, Bobo was still in a coma. There was still no change. Caesar didn't want to think about what would happen if he died, no matter how much more likely it was than Bobo waking up.

"I'm going to see Bobo," Rex said as he discarded his empty cup.

Just then, the door opened revealing White Knight.

"White, you're back!" Six said.

"I know. They said they found the real culprit, but they wouldn't say who it was."

Just then sirens sounded from outside, slowly getting closer. The police car parked in the shade and Detectives Smith and Peters got out.

They walked up to the door, nodding at White Knight as they entered. White Knight looked at the sun glistening on the wet grass. If only it was raining.

"Doctor Rebecca Holiday, you're under arrest for arson," Detective Peters said as he slapped the handcuffs on Holiday's wrists.

Holiday didn't struggle. She went without saying a word to anyone.

In the interrogation room again, the detectives once again asked why she started the fire. This time, Holiday told the whole truth from start to finish.

"I found out a way to cure several types of cancer and prevent it from forming with one shot. This miracle cure would save millions. But, it required Rex's nanites. If this drug went on the market, people would do anything to get it. The sick and dying would be cured. But, the cost was too high. We would have to inject Rex's nanites into the person directly. Rex would be hounded everywhere he went. Some people would do more than just hound him. They might hurt, kidnap or even kill him. I was going to scrap the project. But then, the government found out about it. They wouldn't let me delete the research. I put tape laden with microscopic explosives in the room along with all the data partaking to my research. I set a detonator to go off several hours later when the room would be empty. I didn't expect Rex and Bobo to be playing nearby. When the bombs went off, they injured Bobo and Rex carried him to safety. I took a can of gasoline and poured it all over the valuables in the room and threw a match on them. I wanted to make it look like an accident. The government couldn't get a hold of my research. It was the only way."

Doctor Holiday's confession and a later guilty plea landed her in prison for several years. Rex visited her every day.

Caesar applied for custody of Rex again and was granted it this time under the condition that he not work as hard.

White Knight stayed to help rebuild Providence HQ. Six relocated to a fierce jungle like area. Caesar and Rex followed him there.

One day, when Rex was helping Caesar with an experiment, they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, do any of you got any food?"

"Bobo!" Rex shouted happily as he hugged his friend.

"What did I miss to get such a happy reaction out of you?"

"You might want to sit down. It's a very long story," Caesar told Bobo.

"I'm listening." Bobo replied.

Rex smiled. Sometimes, things change and you can't control it. But, it usually turns out okay. After all, he could still visit Holiday anytime he wanted due to Caesar's ship. Six was still around. White Knight may be back at HQ, but they could still talk. If he wanted to. Maybe when Holiday gets out, they could all have a family reunion. That would be fun. Sometimes, things have to change. Rex looked outside. It was raining.

Author's Note: And that's the end of it. Here's some fun facts about the making of this fic.

- Bobo wasn't originally in the fic at all. When I realized that I couldn't just leave him out, I had it so he was in a coma for most of the fic. I can't write Bobo at all.

- Holiday was always going to be the one who started the fire. Originally, she was supposed to frame White Knight, but I dropped that when I realized that it would be too OOC.

- Six and Holiday were going to be a couple. Then I decided to not have any pairings, so the idea was dropped.

- I wrote this whole fic over the course of two days. I just couldn't stop.

Thanks for reading my fic _Ashes_, I hope you enjoyed it!


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